TWELVE-THOUSAND brave souls are due to run London’s first major half-marathon this weekend and, as well as the sweet sights of Greenwich, they’ll have music while they work.
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Dubbed Run to the Beat, Sunday’s event is going all out to prove that listening to the right kind of music can improve athletic performance.
We’re not talking about thousands of sweat-covered iPods here; instead, the 13-mile course, starting and ending the 02 Dome, will have 17 sound stages with live music, some rumoured to be from surprise famous bands.
Researchers from Brunel University in Uxbridge, west London, are to be stationed at strategic points throughout the 13-mile course to monitor the effects of different types of music. Previous investigations by the Brunel team suggest music can add at least 15 per cent to performance.
A quick survey of musical types in LondonNet’s offices unearthed surprisingly few run-themed hits, but we did manage a top five:
1. Long Distance Love – Little Feat (song and band title double points bonanza)
2. Run, Run, Run – Velvet Underground
3. Running Away – Sly and the Family Stone
4. Running Man – Hanson
5. Do a Runner – Athletico Spizz 80 (double points, but it’s really an album)
More info from the official site here
